Maurizio Sarri let rip at Chelsea star Ross Barkley over ‘inside joke’

Former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri would regularly shout Ross Barkley when the England midfielder slipped up, according to ex-Blues ace Marcin Bulka.

Italian coach Sarri spent just one season at Stamford Bridge, joining from Napoli in July 2018, before leaving for Napoli in June the following year.

And he wasn’t afraid to shout at his players, Bulka says, with ex- Everton attacking-midfielder Barkley often on the receiving end of a few of his rants in which he would shout his name.

Bulka admits that the verbal lashings became something of an inside joke around the Chelsea camp, with one incident in particular getting Sarri riled up.

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“There was a bit of an inside joke in our team,” Bulka said in a recent interview . “Ross would notoriously do something wrong in training and Sarri would shout at him in is low, hoarse voice from all the cigs: ‘RRRRROOOOOSSSSSS’.

“It became a huge joke in our team and we would shout at him like that too.

“One time, we had a pre-game meeting and I was sitting next to Ross. Sarri is being very passionate, he is shouting, explaining tactics, really going at it.

“Suddenly my phone alarm rang, even though I thought I had turned it off.

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“I quickly silenced it, but Sarri turned to our direction all p****d and went like: ‘RRRRRROOOOSSSSSS’. But I had to pay up later anyway.”

Sarri became known for chewing cigarettes on the touchline, as unlike in Italy, smoking is banned inside football stadiums.

And Bulka admits that the 61-year-old lights up pretty regularly, as well as necking a coffee or two.

“Let’s say he doesn’t have the healthiest lifestyle.

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“He smokes like three packs of cigarettes per day, drinks coffee like crazy,” Bulka added.

“He can smoke a whole pack on a coffee break.

“I’m actually a bit worried about how long he can live like this.”

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